


Fools Together

by theherocomplex



Series: Love From a Gurney [2]
Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-13
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2020-05-07 07:00:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19204279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theherocomplex/pseuds/theherocomplex
Summary: The truth lies before us. We’ll find it together, and then I won’t have to wish for him to be with me. He just…willbe.





	Fools Together

**Author's Note:**

> For a Tumblr prompt from [klynnvakarian](http://klynnvakarian.tumblr.com): “I can’t sleep, can I stay here?” for Julian/MC
> 
> The Arcana’s timeline is a bag of wet noodles; this takes place after having dinner with Julian and Portia at Portia’s cottage in Book VIII.

I stumble back in from the garden, half-expecting to see Nadia waiting for me by the fountain with a whole squad of guards. That’d be just my luck – find murder suspect, fall for murder suspect,  _get dumped_  by murder suspect, reconcile with murder suspect only to be arrested for helping said murder suspect – but the fountain is deserted except for the shadow of birds’ wings as they move through the starlit trees. 

So I sneak up to my room, a little chilled by the night air, exhausted and more than a little terrified of what I’m doing, and stung by the guilt of lying to Nadia. I try to tell myself I don’t have much choice if I want a chance at keeping Julian alive, and really, what Nadia doesn’t know won’t hurt me – but it all rings hollow. Nadia’s been a friend, and I just spent the better part of an hour kissing the man she thinks killed her husband. 

“My head hurts,” I whisper to the door of my room. 

I just need a little time. A day, maybe two, and we’ll know for sure just  _what_  happened. And then, maybe, I can save Julian, come clean to Nadia, and figure out what to do about whatever’s in Lucio’s old room. 

…right. 

At least my room is warm, and sweetly scented with cinnamon incense. There’s a pot of mint tea on a table next to the balcony doors, enchanted to stay warm, and I slip toward it, sighing as I set down my bag and toe off my boots. 

Tea, then bed. Maybe a plan will come to me while I sleep. 

Again: right. 

But – I’m not alone in this. I told Julian he wasn’t alone, just before he slipped out of the Palace gardens: we’re in this  _together_ , and that’s why it will work out. 

I sip my tea, listening to the faint rustles in the gardens below me, and manage to catch sight of a shooting star just before it disappears below the forest line. 

Maybe I should have wished for proof of Julian’s innocence. Maybe I should have wished for a cure to the plague, or an end to ghosts. A better person would have. 

Instead, I wish for Julian. 

My mouth is still warm and swollen from our kisses, the press of his hands still lingers on my waist and neck. I can hear his quick gasp from when I bit his neck – and I smell him, leather and clean sweat and the faintest hint of the sea, on my hair and in my clothes. If I could have anything, in this moment, it would be him. 

I know, I know, that makes me a fool. He might be a murderer. He might be worse. And yet, I can’t believe he’s either of those things, not when I’ve seen his kindness firsthand. The truth lies before us. We’ll find it together, and then I won’t have to wish for him to be with me. He just… _will_  be. 

The rustling stops. I set down my cup and start to turn away from the balcony, but at the corner of my eye, a shadow glides over the railing and into the room. 

I react, too fast for thought: a flash of dazzling light, forming a shield between me and whoever comes. Will light keep back a ghost? God, I hope so. 

There’s a hiss, and then a dry chuckle that makes my heart stutter. 

“Not that I don’t love your light shows,” says Julian. “But the bottle was a far better deterrent.” 

“Oh my god.” I let the spell drop and rush ahead, then spin away before I can touch him. The door is locked, but I shove a chair under the doorknob before I turn back. “You’re here – what are you – are you an  _idiot?_  Julian, this is the  _Palace_.” 

“Is it?” He beams, his ridiculous coat flapping around him. “I hadn’t noticed. I just followed my heart, and it led me to you.” 

“It’s going to lead you to the dungeons,” I say, but I’m already leaping to him, arms around his neck, legs around his hips. “What are you  _doing_  here?” I ask, as I kiss him, again, and again. 

He pulls away, mussed hair falling over his good eye. There’s the most delicious flush on his cheeks, flooding over his jaw and down his throat. I want to pin him down and bite every inch of him, but I wait for his answer. 

“I couldn’t sleep,” he says, with the air of a confession. “I just kept thinking,  _what if she’s in trouble, what if they caught her, what if I put her in danger_ , and Mazelinka couldn’t keep me from coming.” 

Mentally, I translate that to  _Mazelinka told me to stop pacing or get out of her house_. “This is a terrible idea,” I say, even as I start kissing him again. “You’re a fool for coming, and I’m a fool for letting you stay.” 

“Haven’t I told you?” Julian nips at my ear, then presses his forehead to mine. “I only have terrible ideas.” 

I don’t want to let him go. I want to be an idiot, and keep kissing him till the sun comes up. We’d figure it out, somehow, but –

“Julian…” I sigh as he kisses his way down my throat. “We can’t. We really can’t.” 

He pauses, and exhales against my bare shoulder, warm and damp. “I know,” he says. “I just had to know you were safe.” 

“That’s very sweet.” I untangle myself from him, barely able to meet his eye – the way he watches me, so much hunger, so much  _need,_ calls to something buried deep in my chest, something for which I have no name. “But I  _am_  safe. You’re the one in danger.” 

“My middle na–” 

“Don’t say it.” 

He huffs a laugh against the finger I press to his mouth. “I’ll go,” he says, a moment later. “But I have to wait till the guards change shift, which means…” 

I raise an eyebrow. 

“Let me stay till you fall asleep,” he asks. “And then I’ll go. Straight back to Mazelinka’s. I promise.” 

There’s something so earnest in his gaze, so hopelessly yearning, that I can’t say no. I nod, and Julian sweeps me into his arms with no effort at all. 

 _Fools we are,_  I think to myself, as he carries me to the bed,  _but fools we are together._

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Come talk to me on [Tumblr!](http://theherocomplex.tumblr.com) <3


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